Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Covering Protests With Google Glass
Tim Pool: "When there's a wall of police firing plastic bullets at you, and you're running through a wall of tear-gas, having your hands free to cover your face, while saying 'OK Glass, record a video', makes that recording process a lot... easier"
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Latin Comeback
The Economist: "Why is Latin making a comeback?"
One answer:
And Rand Simberg reminded me of the classic grammar lesson scene:
One answer:
Latin’s succinctness makes it ideal for Twitter’s 140-character epigraphs and aphorisms. Five words can often say more than ten English ones, according to David Butterfield, a Latinist at the University of Cambridge.With the Latin revival, I'm hoping we'll see more cool Latin names like these:
And Rand Simberg reminded me of the classic grammar lesson scene:
Framing With Bitcoin and Silk Road
Bad guys try to frame enemy by buying illegal drugs with Bitcoin on Silk Road, sending them to his house, then calling the police.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Gold and Military Salaries
Military salaries (in ounces of gold) hasn't changed much between the Roman Empire and today:
The annual cost of one Roman legionary plus one Roman centurion was 40.9 ounces of gold. The annual cost of one United States Army private plus one Army captain has recently been 38.9 ounces of gold.
When "Smart Homes" Get Hacked
"When 'Smart Homes' Get Hacked: I Haunted A Complete Stranger's House Via The Internet"
The Backwards Song
"The Backwards Song": The lyrics were sung in reverse. This is the time-reversed video.
Here's the original (forward) version.
Here's the original (forward) version.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Indian Army's Astronomical Error
BBC: "India's army reportedly spent six months watching 'Chinese spy drones' violating its air space, only to find out they were actually Jupiter and Venus."
The Science of Winning Poker
"The Science of Winning Poker: Bluffing still matters, but the best players now depend on math theory". (Via Debby Witt.)
Two-Sentence Horror Stories
"Two-Sentence Horror Stories are actually pretty chilling".
Some good ones:
Some good ones:
I just saw my reflection blink. -marino1310
I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, “Daddy check for monsters under my bed.” I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, “Daddy there’s somebody on my bed.” - justAnotherMuffledVo
The doctors told the amputee he might experience a phantom limb from time to time. Nobody prepared him for the moments though, when he felt cold fingers brush across his phantom hand. -GagegeLots more here.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks
Andy Greenberg: "Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks". Includes video.
Project Management Lessons from "The Walking Dead"
"6 Lessons The Walking Dead Can Teach You about Project Management". (Via Charlie Martin.)
[Off Topic] Hsieh Forbes OpEd on Zimmerman and Responsible Concealed Carry
[Off topic]: Forbes has published my latest OpEd, "The Single Most Important Lesson Gun Owners Should Learn From The George Zimmerman Case".
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
NSA Says It Can't Search Its Own E-mails
Ars Technica: "NSA says it can't search its own e-mails".
Because their system is "a little antiquated and archaic". Um, sure.
Because their system is "a little antiquated and archaic". Um, sure.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Ingenious Furniture Design
Resource Furniture offers ingenious multi-use space-saving furniture.
Ideal for those living in small NYC apartments. (Via Maximizing Progress.)
Ideal for those living in small NYC apartments. (Via Maximizing Progress.)
Football's Yellow First Down Line
"The story behind football's innovative yellow first down line". (Via @debbywitt.)
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Physics Experiment Succeeds After 69 Years
"Trinity College experiment succeeds after 69 years":
After decades of waiting, physicists at Trinity College have for the first time captured a rare scientific event on camera. 70 years after the experiment was set up, the scientists have videoed pitch dripping from a funnel...(Via Gus Van Horn.)
Handbook of Government Ethical Failures
The federal government publishes a free book The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure meant to help train government employees in what not to do.
The stories are all true and it makes for very entertaining reading. (Via Freakonomics.)
The stories are all true and it makes for very entertaining reading. (Via Freakonomics.)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Morality of Jailbreaking
Diana Hsieh podcast segment on "The Morality of Jailbreaking". More information on her weekly broadcasts.
The Eddie Murphy Rule
Excellent NPR "Planet Money" podcast on whether the commodities trading scenes in Trading Places were realistic. (Their conclusion, surprisingly so.)
And how the movie contributed to the creation of the real-world "Eddie Murphy Rule".
And how the movie contributed to the creation of the real-world "Eddie Murphy Rule".
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?
"Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?"
Monday, July 15, 2013
Smart Watch Rumor Roundup
"What I learned from researching almost every single smart watch that has been rumored or announced"
Salon on Continuum Hypothesis
"Mathematician Georg Cantor went mad trying to prove the Continuum Hypothesis. We're still trying 100 years later."
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Ads By Bone Conduction
Soon, the voice you hear in your head might not be God, but rather ads delivered by bone conduction. Related BBC story.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Clever Psychological Tricks to Get You to Spend Money on Free Games
Clever psychological tricks to get you to spend money on free games.
Update: Title was wrong before, now fixed!
Update: Title was wrong before, now fixed!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Watch North American City Skylines Sprout In 3-D Video, From 1850 To Today
"Watch North American City Skylines Sprout In 3-D Video, From 1850 To Today". (Via Jennifer A.)
Precise Atomic Clock May Redefine Time
"Precise atomic clock may redefine time". Or more accurately, may redefine our measurement of a "second". (Via Jeff Patterson.)
NSA Cracked the Kryptos Sculpture Years Before the CIA
Wired: "It took more than eight years for a CIA analyst and a California computer scientist to crack three of the four coded messages on the CIA’s famed Kryptos sculpture in the late '90s.
Little did either of them know that a small group of cryptanalysts inside the NSA had beat them to it, and deciphered the same three sections of Kryptos years earlier — and they did it in less than a month, according to new documents obtained from the NSA."
Little did either of them know that a small group of cryptanalysts inside the NSA had beat them to it, and deciphered the same three sections of Kryptos years earlier — and they did it in less than a month, according to new documents obtained from the NSA."
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Why Junk Mail Follows You So Quickly After A Move
Why junk mail follows you so easily when you move to a new address. And how to opt out.
Quiet Windows?
"Redesigned Window Stops Sound But Not Air, Say Materials Scientists". (Via Howard R.)
Monday, July 08, 2013
Arrest Caught On Google Glass Reignites Privacy Debate
NPR: "Arrest Caught On Google Glass Reignites Privacy Debate".
Of course if all this happened in public, is there any reasonable expectation of privacy?
Update: Link was bad, now fixed!
Of course if all this happened in public, is there any reasonable expectation of privacy?
Update: Link was bad, now fixed!
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Wikipedia Terminal Event Management Policy
Wikipedia has a "Terminal Event Management Policy" to deal with the collapse of civilization. (Via @elidourado and Tyler Cowen.)
Bitcoin Seizure
"In a case believed to be the first of its kind, federal authorities have seized a Charleston man's virtual currency due to an alleged drug law violation with possible links to a shadowy online black market."
Thursday, July 04, 2013
Online Dating's Biggest Conundrum
"Tackling Online Dating's Biggest Conundrum: When you read the profile of a potential partner, how do you know it's true?"
William Shakespeare's Star Wars
What if William Shakespeare had written Star Wars?
Here is the opening from the book:
Here is a PDF version of the first 16 pages.
Here is the opening from the book:
PROLOGUE.
Outer space.
Enter
CHORUS
CHORUS
It is a period of civil war.
The spaceships of the rebels, striking swift
From base unseen, have gain’d a vict’ry o’er
The cruel Galactic Empire, now adrift.
Amidst the battle, rebel spies prevail’d
And stole the plans to a space station vast,
Whose pow’rful beams will later be unveil’d
And crush a planet: ’tis the DEATH STAR blast.
Pursu’d by agents sinister and cold,
Now Princess Leia to her home doth flee,
Deliv’ring plans and a new hope they hold:
Of bringing freedom to the galaxy.
In time so long ago begins our play,
In star-crossed galaxy far, far away.
[Exit]Here is a PDF version of the first 16 pages.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Pluto's Moons
"Pluto's tiniest moons now have official names: Kerberos and Styx".
BTW, William Shatner is displeased with the final vote:
BTW, William Shatner is displeased with the final vote:
Initially, there were 12 names on the ballot, including such minions of Hades as Eurydice, Alecto, and Persephone. After a few days, Showalter added eight more. By the time voting closed, more than 450,000 votes had been cast, and voters had written in with 30,000 other options (including Stephen and Colbert, Mickey and Minnie, Potato and Pota(h)to, and various siblings claimed to be underworldly).
Among those write-ins was Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and volcanic fury, and the first addition to the ballot. Suggested on February 12 in a tweet by the actor William Shatner, Vulcan quickly zoomed ahead of the competition, leading the final tally with more than 170,00 votes.
Showalter submitted Vulcan, and second-place Cerberus (99,432 votes) to the International Astronomical Union for approval.
But when mulling over the names, the IAU found there were already too many objects named after Vulcan – not including the fictional home world of Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock – and after much deliberation, ruled that Vulcan wouldn’t work.
“What? That’s impossible! I’m going to lead a revolt,” Shatner said, when Wired told him of the outcome. “Pluto is so big and cold that it deserved to have a hot little rock running around it, named Vulcan — for fire.”
Bitcoin Fund
"Winklevoss Twins Plan First Fund for Bitcoins".
But Matthew O'Brien at The Atlantic thinks you shouldn't invest.
But Matthew O'Brien at The Atlantic thinks you shouldn't invest.
Why Lego Minifigures Have A Hole In Their Heads
"Why Lego Minifigures Have A Hole In Their Heads".
The answer: "To match the bricks? To snap on hats? Nope. In reality, minifigs have been designed to allow air to pass through if lodged in a child’s throat." (Via Jennifer Armstrong.)
The answer: "To match the bricks? To snap on hats? Nope. In reality, minifigs have been designed to allow air to pass through if lodged in a child’s throat." (Via Jennifer Armstrong.)
Monday, July 01, 2013
Freaknomics on "Do You Really Want to Know Your Future?"
Fascinating Freakonomics podcast: "Do You Really Want to Know Your Future?"
Discusses why some people do (or do not) wish to know whether they have the incurable (and fatal) genetic condition Huntington's Disease. There is a test for the condition which, but not a treatment. Those with the gene will appear normal growing up, then develop symptoms as young adults. If they carry the gene, their children will each have a 50% chance of also having the gene.
Discusses why some people do (or do not) wish to know whether they have the incurable (and fatal) genetic condition Huntington's Disease. There is a test for the condition which, but not a treatment. Those with the gene will appear normal growing up, then develop symptoms as young adults. If they carry the gene, their children will each have a 50% chance of also having the gene.